Issue - items at meetings - Third Sector Recovery Action Plan

Report of the Director of Strategy & Governance (copy attached).

(1)         That Cabinet adopt the Third Sector Recovery Plan as a council plan to enable officers to start implementing the actions to support the third sector in the city.

192.1                The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Strategy & Governance concerning Brighton & Hove’s Third Sector Recovery Plan ‘Ready, Responding and Resilient’, which set out the vital role played by the Third Sector in supporting the most vulnerable citizens and communities in the City in a recession.

192.2                Councillor Mitchell welcomed the report and its timely nature. She stated that it gave an indication of the good work the council undertook with the voluntary sector and highlighted their importance to the city. She added that the action plan would sit well with the Volunteering Strategy and Social Enterprise Strategy, as people began to look the Third Sector more for services traditionally provided by the council.

192.3                Councillor Randall welcomed the report and advised that the Third Sector should be seen as complimentary to local authorities, rather than the cheaper option. He added that work undertaken by the Phoenix Gallery in Brighton represented a good example of a creative business-like third sector organisation making a difference in the city.

192.4                Councillor Watkins stated that Third Sector organisations were of significant value to individuals in the city and that the council needed to ensure volunteers were well-supported because the city would come to rely on them more during the difficult economic climate.

192.5                The Chairman advised that the council fully recognised the work of Third Sector organisations in the city and thanked the officers for producing the action plan.

192.6                RESOLVED - That having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Cabinet accepted the following recommendation:

(1)         That the Third Sector Recovery Plan be adopted as a council plan to enable officers to start implementing the actions to support the third sector in the city.